U.S. Government Intends To Fund Quantum Computing

D-Wave Quantum Inc., a dual-platform quantum computing company, announced Thursday that it has signed a letter of intent for $100 million of proposed funding under the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act.

According to a D-Wave press release, the company would issue $100 million in shares of its common stock to the department, which would help accelerate the development of D-Wave’s annealing and gate-model quantum systems.

The funding would help D-Wave deliver its 100,000-qubit annealing system and a gate-model system with 10,000 physical qubits, which enable 100 logical qubits, the release said. D-Wave expects the systems to solve computational problems and provide application development for quantum chemistry and quantum artificial intelligence use cases.

Quantum annealing specializes in solving complex optimization problems, while a gate-model architecture is the design of general-purpose quantum computers.

In an effort to support and expand U.S. emerging technologies, the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act accelerates the domestic production of semiconductors by funding various programs and activities within the federal science agencies.

“We believe that the U.S. government’s strategic investment in D-Wave would advance the country’s global leadership position in quantum computing,” said Alan Baratz, CEO of D-Wave. “The award would accelerate D-Wave’s ability to scale quantum innovation domestically, expedite key fabrication processes and deliver real-world quantum applications to our global customers today. We see this as a transformative moment for not just D-Wave, but also for quantum computing and the United States.”

The award is subject to the parties that execute definitive award documents, according to the release.